Frankfort Native Returns With Band For Holiday Concert

FRANKFORT, IL — Frankfort native Katie Blomarz has been playing music since she was a child. Now, the Hickory Creek Middle School and Lincoln-Way East graduate will return to her hometown with her bandmates in The Barefoot Movement for a concert Dec. 8.

Blomarz said she started taking piano lessons in third grade, clarinet in the fifth grade and electric bass in sixth grade jazz band.

"When I was in high school, I knew that I wanted to go to college for music so I switched to playing the upright bass when I was a sophomore," Blomarz said.

Blomarz and The Barefoot Movement will play a concert at Trail's Edge Brewing Company, 20 Kansas St. The Black Willow Brass Quintet, of which Blomarz's dad is a member, will open for the show.

"My family had always been super supportive of my career," Blomarz said. "My dad and brother are also still active musicians in several groups in the Chicagoland area, and my mom is very heavily involved in supporting all of us. It is a world of difference to have a supportive family when you have chosen a career like music."

After high school, Blomarz attended the University of Illinois and received her degree in music education with an emphasis in jazz, she said. In 2015, she made the move to Nashville to try to be a professional musician.

Blomarz met her bandmates at the end of 2015 and began touring around the United States and Canada with them. The Barefoot Movement is a 4-piece Americana/folk band with heavy harmonies. It includes Blomarz on upright bass, singer-songwriter and fiddler Noah Wall; mandolinist Tommy Norris; and guitarist and singer Alex Conerly.

The doors for the concert will open 5 p.m. Dec. 8. The Black Willow Brass Quintet will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by The Barefoot Movement at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. You can email bmarz57@yahoo.com if you wish to reserve a seat.